


Checkup

by ryfkah



Category: Monster (Manga/Anime), Nijusseiki Shounen | 20th Century Boys (Manga)
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-02-27
Updated: 2011-02-27
Packaged: 2017-10-15 23:42:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/166103
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryfkah/pseuds/ryfkah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's hard to plan for proper medical care for a three-year-old when you're on the run.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Checkup

Tenma was trying very hard not to notice that the little girl’s guardian had come to the appointment in a large pink bunny suit.

This should not have been so difficult. In the past, Tenma had provided medical assistance to many people who had made far stranger lifestyle choices than taking to the streets disguised as enormous rabbits – and if Tenma had come to any single conclusion during the course of his medical career, it was that it was not a doctor’s job to judge. Still, while he had learned to ignore thieves, murderers, gang members, and henchmen of various stripes looking over his shoulder as he performed an examination, there was something about the bunny suit that was peculiarly distracting.

Or maybe it was just the way that the man was hovering.

Tenma finished the examination and straightened; the man in the bunny suit straightened with him, conveying generally anxious vibes. “All right, I can give her the vaccine if you’ll feel more comfortable,” he said, “but I’m about 99 percent sure that your niece is not infected with chicken pox.”

“Man! That’s a relief,” said the man in the bunny suit, and wiped imaginary sweat off his furry brow. Tenma would guess that he was sweating real sweat underneath; it was a hot day out there. “Hey, Kanna?”

“That’s a relief!” said Kanna, swinging her legs over the side of the examining table, and wiped imaginary sweat away from under her bangs.

“I dunno what kind of shots she’s supposed to have had, but it’s kinda hard keeping her up to date,” said the man in the bunny suit. “Given the, uh. You know.”

Tenma nodded. He didn’t know the specifics of Kanna’s uncle’s circumstances, only that a friend of a friend of a friend of his had somehow made the acquaintance of a certain Vietnamese doctor in Germany. There aren’t many doctors willing to treat those without paperwork. There are even fewer doctors willing to treat those without paperwork and also without money. Word spread somehow; arrangements were made. Often, as in this case, they involved no names.

“If you tell me when she last saw a doctor,” he offered, “I can tell you what she’s behind on. I don’t have the kit with me right now to do everything, but I’d be happy to set another appointment.”

“Really? That’d be great,” said the man, his smile invisible under the permanent grin of the costume. Tenma had no doubt that it was there, though, and offered a tentative smile back. “It’d take a load off my mind, seriously. I know kids are supposed to get regular checkups.”

“You don’t need to worry too much,” said Tenma. “Overall, she’s amazingly healthy. Wherever you’re living – I’m not asking – but wherever it is, it must agree with her.”

The rabbit scratched his nose. “Well,” he said, sounding sheepish. “I mean, we’re not exactly living in a house in the countryside. Any credit for health has all gotta go to Kanna and her kickass immune system.”

“Uh-huh!” said Kanna. “I’m kickass!” The girl’s tiny hand and the cotton rabbit’s-paw smacked together, and then gave each other a thumbs-up.

“Seriously, though?” said the man in the bunny suit, fuzzy ears tilting back towards Tenma. “Everything’s okay?”

If he asked three more times than the average parent, Tenma supposed he couldn't blame him. Tenma was a doctor; he didn’t judge. It was true that the life of a fugitive from the law, for whatever reason, was probably not ideal for a small girl. But by now Tenma thought he could count as something of an honorary expert-by-proxy on various ways of child-rearing, and as far as guardians went, Kanna could do a lot worse than a man who put his freedom at risk to find a doctor just because she’d been playing with some boys who’d come down with chicken pox.

Besides, Dieter seemed to be turning out all right.

“From a medical standpoint,” he said, “you’re doing fine.”


End file.
